Psychology student pleads guilty over meth in prison

A doctoral student training at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in Otay Mesa as part of a Ph.D. program in clinical psychology pleaded guilty late last month to felony possession of methamphetamine at the prison, according to court records.

The student, Chonte F. Putras, 26, of Spring Valley, agreed to plead guilty to the crime in exchange for the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office dropping two other charges — felony possession of marijuana in a prison and a misdemeanor count of unauthorized communication with a prisoner. She was arrested May 2 at Donovan.

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Authorities declined to provide details about Putras’ arrest, offenses or the circumstances surrounding the incident, beyond those available in court records.

Putras, who had no criminal history before the arrest, was sentenced Aug. 22 to three years of supervised probation, four days in jail, mental health counseling and 20 days of public service. She was ordered to pay about $3,000 in fines and fees, according to court records. If convicted on all charges, she could have faced up to seven years imprisonment and more than $10,000 in fines.

Speaking on Putras’ behalf, her attorney, Guadalupe Valencia, said the court took into consideration her history of responsible conduct when deciding her sentence.

“She’s never been in trouble her whole life,” Valencia said. “It’s completely out of character. You have a young woman who is a single parent, working on a Ph.D. and an internship. That seems like the person who would be least likely to get in trouble, but it happens in life.”

Valencia said Putras faces administrative proceedings at her school, Alliant International University in Scripps Ranch, to decide her future as a doctoral student in psychology.

The university declined through a spokesman to provide information about Putras’ enrollment status, citing legal restrictions under the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act. The school said no other practicum students had been arrested in the past for crimes involving the corrections system.

Alliant released a statement that said administrators are aware of Putras’ arrest, and do not consider it symptomatic of a larger problem.

“We take great pride in the academic rigor that we apply to our programs, our ongoing commitment to comply with all requirements, and our commitment to the service of underserved communities,” the statement said. “We have significantly and positively impacted the communities where our programs have provided more than 30 million hours of service over the past 60 years.”

Putras had been participating for almost a year in an unpaid “practicum student” professional training program through her university, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokesman Bill Sessa said Thursday. She had not yet advanced to an internship, which requires more experience and involves more responsibility.

The prison system’s practicum program places in state corrections facilities hundreds of doctoral candidates in numerous disciplines, Sessa said. They work part time, and under the supervision of licensed clinical staff. The program helps students build skills and log the hours of experience they’ll need to get an internship and meet professional accreditation standards.

Practicum students typically observe treatment sessions conducted by professional prison staff and participate in classroom presentations, Sessa said. They are not responsible for providing primary care.

“A practicum student would not have any duties that would put her one-on-one with an inmate in an unsupervised setting,” Sessa said.

To be accepted into the training program, applicants must pass a background check and other screening, Sessa said. Students must complete orientation to learn skills, including “techniques to avoid being compromised by inmates,” and how to prevent “over familiarization” with prisoners.

They are subject to the same screening and safeguards the prison system uses to keep visitors, employees, volunteers and others from smuggling contraband into correctional facilities, Sessa said.

Sessa did not respond to questions about whether other practicum students or interns had been arrested in the past at prisons. He also did not respond to questions about the inmate involved and whether authorities investigated or took enforcement actions against him.

In a letter to the court, dated July 10 and included in case records, Putras said she takes full responsibility for her actions and feels great remorse for her mistakes. She said the stress of being a single mother to her daughter, her schoolwork, work and planning a wedding contributed to her lapse in judgment.

“This time in my life was completely outside of my character,” Putras’ letter said. “There is not a day that goes by where I am at disbelief with myself for what I have done, and ashamed with myself, as I have always been a woman with numerous aspirations, goals and strives for a higher education. It has shown me that there are things I need to work on within myself to ensure that I will not get involved in anything remotely similar to this, and also to improve my life as well as my family’s.”